Sipping up faith and family

Easter…..!

Wow…..I can’t believe how long its been since I’ve blogged. I feel like I’ve been in a little bubble the last few weeks of Lent and into Easter. I have sooo much to share with you and I feel like life is passing by so quickly. So….let’s just do a little “recap” of Holy week and Easter.

Holy Thursday:

Our children just finished our Lenten tea and scripture reading. We were getting ready for “Daddy’s washing of the feet”. One of my favorite traditions. My husband washes the feet of each child and gently kisses them. He reminds them how much he loves them and how it is our Christian duty to serve one another.

Good Friday:

While the hubs takes the three older children to a 3 o’clock service, the little ones and I read about the stations of the cross and then walk the outdoor stations.

Mini Me and Miss Missy are such loving little girls and I was eager to have this time with just them. First, they had a few little “love sessions” at the house before we left and then we hit the trail!

As we were reading the stations book, Mini Me says, “I’m so glad that Jesus got raised from the dead. If I was God, I would do that for my people!”…..don’t you just love kids!

On Good Friday, our family also refrains from all TV, ipads, ipods, everything electronic through Holy Saturday. We usually “close down” our playroom and put up a big banner that reminds us of Jesus’s death and that we are awaiting the Resurrection. Here are some of the pictures of us making our banner this year:

I love to get close up pictures of the scenes that they are replaying in their minds from the Gospel and events of today. It’s always interesting to see what they will depict.

DDD is my little artist. He is such a deep kid and his thoughts come out in his details. “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?”…..his scene shows Jesus and the two thieves. He said several times…..”I want to be in paradise like the good thief.”. The Roman soldier is there with this spear to thrust in Jesus’s side. DDD was particularly bothered by the brutality of the crucifixion this year.

This is Mini Me….she can’t help but make a smiley stick figure in between my letters. She says this figure is so happy because Jesus loves her so much. She also drew a green cross. She was very upset most of holy week about “her Jesus” and what “these people” did to him because “he’s always so good to me”. I love the way that children think so innocent.

The fashionista was very “taken” by Mary Magdalen and also wrote “God is good” above her scene. She spent time asking me about Mary Magdalen and felt that it was awesome that Mary was the first one to see Jesus after he rose from the dead, since she was a sinner.

Sweet Pea, too, was taken with Mary Magdalen and her heartfelt sorrow. She even referenced the Bible to find Jesus’s exact words when he was calling on the father. She even told me on Holy Saturday that she “couldn’t handle one more crucifixion scene”. I hear ya, honey! Me either!

Miss Missy just drew with such happiness. Jesus loves me, she kept saying as she drew. =) Then she asked me to help her draw a brown cross.

Holy Saturday:

We mostly spent the day reading books about Easter and then dyeing eggs.

The poor hubs was not feeling well and was grabbing a quick nap in the morning on the couch. I came through when I heard him moaning….it’s just so hard to get any “down time” with this crew!

Miss Missy was really frustrated that I was making her wear gloves during our egg dyeing session…but with an egg allergy…..i wasn’t taking any chances.

Easter:

So as the kids continue to pick through their baskets, I thought I would share with you a few more “treasures” from this glorious day:

The kids awoke to their baskets and these decorations…

The hubs also hid 100 eggs around the house the night before. Right after the kiddos finished “checking out” their baskets, we had an easter egg hunt! Their eggs were filled with cash, candy, and coupons good for date nights, free “no chore” weeks, and other fun ideas.

And then we made our way off to the Easter Mass.

Here I am with the littles waiting in the van before Mass. The hubs and the other kids went in to get our seats…..the littles decided they should heckle all the parishioners by yelling “Happy Easter” out the window to everyone who walked by…

I decided to sign our family up to bring up the gifts at Mass and the kids were giddy with excitement. They did a great job! And mom’s prayers that nothing would be dropped were answered!!!

We captured this shot before Mass began since we had to get there pretty early for a seat.

I love taking family pictures during the various seasons. It’s a reminder to me, as a mom, to always be grateful for my family and the memories that we make.

Thank you for taking the time to read about how our little family celebrates this glorious week.